Organic Learning Home Education
Better Behavior through Added Responsibility
Those who know us well can probably tell you of our struggles with our second son, Peter. Since turning three he has become increasingly challenging as 2007 passed us by. We would have so many discussions over the fact that he is growing up and that we expected more from him in respect to his behavior. Each discussion and each consequence for inappropriate behavior seemed to be as a resounding gong, occurring without an impact at all. It was to the point where friends had offered us books and I had already polished off several on child training and I was still as close to wits end as I was prepared to get.
Accommodation & Adventures
The best thing about organic learning is that it can happen anywhere and at any time. In the words of the unschooling community 'the world is my school'. One of the things we love about home education is being able to hit the road whenever we feel the need and just see what is out there for us to experience. As a result, I have set up two maps in our resources section of Organic Learning. These maps cover off reviews of both places of accommodation and places to find learning experiences. Our aim is to document and link to various places where we have had adventures during the day and found rest at night.
Ickle Kids
Have you heard of Ickle Kids yet?
Last week, whilst in Melbourne, I had the privilege of meeting with the owner of Ickle Kids and actually touch and feel their travel games for myself. After the boys spent several days playing with Camoflage and loved it to bits, and myself and my sister sat up to midnight completing all the puzzles, we went back for more for to keep us going in the week of the road trip ahead. We now own most of the games they have on offer and they have kept young and old alike amused.
Just tonight Zoologic and Safari Hide and Seek have had my uncle and aunt occupied for hours. It was amazing how quickly they were hooked. My father and I also worked through all the puzzles on the pirate version of Hide and Seek also over the past few days. However, the boys favorite has to be Road Block.
If you are planning travel, with kids or without, I strongly encourage you to check out the toys & games at Ickle Kids web site today. There are no 'travel size' versions of games you have done to death with loads of small pieces to loose but rather games that are designed to be new and challenging as well as having child and travel appropriate pieces.
Warrnambool - a place I love!
For those who have not taken the time to tour the shipwreck coast of Victoria – shame on you! It is one of the most gorgeous tours I have ever taken and it is well worth taking the time to enjoy, especially with loved ones. We spent today in Warrnambool which, even with changes over the years, has the same family-oriented feel that it did over 20 years ago.
Accommodation Review
Well, it's time for a couple of reviews now I guess.
The first one you can link to is Wirreanda Campground which is near the Naracoorte Caves. The campground was our test bed for establishing whether seven people could sleep in our Hiace. The outcome was that you could, if you were willing to face some minor discomfort. The camp ground was great.
The second is in the the Discovery Holiday Park in Doncaster East, Melbourne. Suffice to say, the internet access is broken and the accommodation is fine as long as you don't expect service with a smile.
Melbourne Zoo visit
The Melbourne Zoo is a favorite place for my children to visit when we go to Melbourne. I have decided to submit some feedback to them asking desperately for a two-day pass option (used within,say, a week) so that our young kids, who can really only last out half a day, have a chance to see everything. This visit included the required visits to the apes, butterflies and elephants. We also then added reptiles, tortoises, giraffes and the cats to the visit this time around.
I, myself, always learn something at the zoo. The thing I learnt this time around was to recycle my mobile phone to minimise the mining requirements of some less common metals so that not all of the gorilla habitat is destroyed on them. Having said that, though, I have had all of three mobile phones over ten years. One was on-sold for someone else, one was recycled after being sucked to death my Karl as a baby and the third is still in use today. I am certainly not one of those people who constantly upgrade.
